jim acosta, cnn, washington. >> and i'm allison kosic. "cnn newsroom" continues now with martin savidge. don't go anywhere. >> thank you very much. >>> welcome to the cnn "newsroom." i'm martin savidge in for fredricka whitfield. here are the top stories we are following right now. >>> that fiscal cliff. we are at the very edge. senate leaders are working through the weekend trying to reach a deal before the deadline. today president obama called on lawmakers to meet their deadlines and responsibilities and forge a compromise to avoid tax hike and spending cuts from taking effect. lisa desjardins is live on capitol hill. what's going on right now? >> reporter: right now it's all behind closed doors, martin. what we just have learned in the last hour, in fact, what reporters have seen here, a surprise. house speaker john boehner was here at the capitol. we're still trying to sort out exactly why he was here, but he wasn't here for very long, it seems. he left in the last hour. also, we were able to see some of senator mcconnell's staffers.